To clarify the role of dialect in the ever-changing English language and to demonstrate its relationship to efficient communication, this curriculum guide has been organized around an outline which includes the examination of such topics as exploration of regional dialects, geography of pronunciation differences, geographic and regional assessment of differences in expression, assessment of student bias through word association and written expressions of feeling, the prestige factors in certain dialects, occupational jargon, and teenage dialect and an interpretation of its terms. Using illustrative examples from "Discovering American Dialects" by Roger Shuy and "Dialects USA" by Jean Malmstrom and Annabel Ashley, such topics as linguistic geography, language history, levels of usage, and dialect literature are presented. Materials include definitions of linguistic terms; a personal data sheet used in linguistic field work; lists of regional expressions; and graphs, diagrams, and maps containing language and dialect information. (JM)